By Greg Hurvitz Undoubtedly the purist cricket enthusiast is in cricket heaven over this festive season and rightly so, with the Proteas dismissing the Indians for another surprisingly low first innings total, this time 205 all out. These are the “ranked” number one and two teams playing against each other. Way down under we have […]
Reader Blog
On our Reader Blog, we invite Thought Leader readers to submit one-off contributions to share their opinions on politics, news, sport, business, technology, the arts or any other field of interest.
If you'd like to contribute, first read our guidelines for submitting material to this blog.
Posted inLifestyle
You’re not man enough!
By Lemos Magule* with Fed Katerere My name is Lemos Magule and I am a 50-year-old man living in Chimoio, Mozambique’s fourth largest city. For the past seven years I have been living as a bachelor after two failed relationships. My first wife, Lucia* and I married under customary law when I was 20 years […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Enough with the media’s half-baked legal analysis
By Malose S Monene The editor, The intellectual slum to which we are daily subjected by our mainstream media has really reached alarming proportions. Nowhere is it more evident than in the way criminal court matters vis-a-vis NPA operations have been reported and commented on. Half truths, lies and gallant displays of acute ignorance about […]
Posted inLifestyle
The curious case of Khanyi Mbau
By Zuki Mqolomba Truth be told, Khanyi Mbau’s narrative tells of our very own narrative. Her ideals reveal much of what now constitutes our national character, the new sets of value propositions that are now hegemonic in mainstream society. Indeed we are the lived expression of her spoken words. “Just because they can’t put bread […]
Posted inMedia
Thought Leader commenter awards: The yays and nays
By Aliki Karasaridis Do blog commenters warrant a second thought, never mind an award? Thought Leader blogger and Bookmark Award winner William Saunderson-Meyer recently told me that writers need to “grow a thick skin against the personal invective of those blog commenters who substitute abuse for argument”. But he did also say that bloggers should […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Government works for us and we should never let it forget that
By Candice Holdsworth As an avid politico I have in recent months been completely captivated by the run-up to the US mid-term elections. Political campaigning in the US is somewhat of a media spectacle, of which the candidates are acutely aware, and as such, usually perform accordingly. It’s often highly entertaining with classic soundbites such […]
Posted inNews/Politics
I’m 50 and I’m tired
By Jonathan Marsden (With apologies to Robert A Hall who is the actor playing the coroner on the TV show CSI and who prepared a similar statement regarding the US.) I’m 50 I’ve worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite three self-owned companies failing, being let down by people who should have known better, I […]
Posted inNews/Politics
SA, a place I call home
By Anthony Lekhuwana I have nothing against the ANC. It is the party I voted for in past elections, with the hope that they would make South Africa a better place for everyone to live in. A place everyone can be proud of to call home. But some things concern me about the way they […]
Posted inGeneral
The head or the heart?
By Candice Holdsworth A female protestor wishes to make it perfectly clear: “This isn’t a political issue it’s a sensitivity issue.” A sentiment shared with the multitudes marching alongside her on the streets of New York, united in their vehement opposition to the building of a mosque in lower Manhattan, two blocks from Ground Zero. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
A sho’t left to nowhere
By Isobel Frye The transparency of the South African budgeting system is hailed internationally as a standard for other countries to emulate: its three-year rolling budget allocations, and the use of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, which is issued three months ahead of the national budget, provide pointers for the priorities that will emerge […]
Posted inGeneral
Open letter to President Jacob Zuma
By Lee Hall Mr President, you state that “ … this right [media freedom] cannot not be allowed to enjoy greater protection than [other freedoms] enshrined in the Constitution”. Strangely enough, it is not so much “media freedom” that is under threat here. Rather, it is my constitutional right to choose freely what information I […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Dear Gareth Cliff…
By Justin Foxton Thank you for taking the time to write your letter to the government. I am certain it will be forwarded on many thousands of times and the GC brand will be all the stronger for it. Your transition from voice of 5FM to voice of the people has been fascinating to watch. […]